Time To Correct the Record Regarding Reverend Jeremiah Wright

[Tatiana]

“The people of faith have moved from the hatred of armed enemies to the hatred of unarmed innocents. We want revenge, we want paybacks, and we don’t care who gets hurt in the process.” – Reverend Jeremiah Wright

************

It is time to correct the record regarding Reverend Jeremiah Wright and reverse the blatant “hit job” that various media outlets have either instigated or perpetuated against him. Much has been made of snippets of Rev. Wright’s sermons featuring impassioned, and to some, inflammatory remarks. But curiously, no one has aired or transcribed an extended portion of the sermons that have caused so much controversy. Nor have any of the media outlets I have read and viewed mentioned that Rev. Wright was referencing comments made by former Ambassador to Iraq, Edward Peck, ironically given on a Fox News program entitled “The War on Terror” in October 2001. On that program, Ambassador Peck presented facts that clearly agitated the program’s host; including pointing out that America previously viewed Saddam Hussein as an ally, eleven years of economic embargo killed countless children, the proceeds from the sale of “oil for food” all went to the United Nations not the Iraqi people, and two United Nations humanitarian directors resigned in protest over the suffering being forced on the Iraqi people.

Reverend Wright heard this discussion and it made him think in the context of the horrible event visited upon this nation September 11, 2001. So many of us asked the question, “Why?” Why would someone do this? Why would someone attack us in such a savage and cruel way? Reverend Wright knew his people and knew they were asking these questions. And in the sermon that he delivered, Rev. Wright was attempting to answer these questions that plagued us. Picking up where Ambassador Peck left off, Wright connects the dots and reminds us that in our quest to hunt down terrorists, there are those in other nations that would ask our country to take a look in the proverbial mirror. From this land’s native inhabitants to civilians in Grenada, Panama, Libya, Iraq, Sudan, and Japan (to name those referenced in Wright’s message), there are quite a few people who may not be thrilled with America’s conduct towards them.

And here’s the true crux of Rev. Wright’s message in his own words, taken from that sermon:

“Violence begets violence, hatred begets hatred, and terrorism begets terrorism. A white ambassador said that y’all, not a black militant. Not a reverend who preaches about racism. An ambassador whose eyes are wide open and who’s trying to get us to wake up and move away from this dangerous precipice upon which we are now poised. The ambassador said the people that we are wounding don’t have the military capability we have but they do have individuals who are willing to die and take thousands with them and we need to come to grips with that.”

View the video of his sermon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOdlnzkeoyQ">here:

Read the transcript of Ambassador Peck’s Fox News appearance http://thinkonthesethings.wordpress.com/2008/03/20/video-jeremiah-wright-chickens-coming-home-to-roost-september-11-full-sermon/#more-2653
">here:

Now ask yourself as a news organization, as part of the fourth estate, whether you have presented an accurate portrayal of a man who is the recipient of three presidential commendations. Based upon my own research and my own attendance at Trinity as a visitor, I can say unequivocally that you have done both Reverend Wright and his family a grave disservice. Sadly, the presidential candidate who has taken so much blame for those out-of-context snippets apparently didn’t bother to check out the entire sermons from which the “controversial” statements were cherry-picked either. This actually lends credence to Senator Obama’s assertion that he was not in attendance on the days of the sermons in question. If he was in attendance, he would surely have known that Reverend Wright’s sermon on 9/11 was actually referencing commentary previously given by Ambassador Peck.

Please do not abdicate your obligation to journalistic integrity. I look forward to your news organization correcting the record and presenting an accurate portrayal of the true character, intelligence, and integrity of Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Failing to do so will prove that you are no more than followers of Sean Hannity and similar propagandists.

Sincerely,

Tatiana Rodriguez
Chicago, IL

[ej510]

1. I agree with you Fox the festival of ignorance.

Has been demonizing this man. But so has Msnbc and Cnn. The MSM needs to tell the truth.

[Tatiana]

2. Where I sent this message... (Post any other organizations you can think of.)

MEDIA CONTACT LIST

ABC:

General e-mail: [e-mail]
Nightline: [e-mail]
20/20: [e-mail]

CBS:

CBS Evening News: [e-mail]
The Early Show: [e-mail]
60 Minutes II: [e-mail]
48 Hours: [e-mail]
Face The Nation: [e-mail]

http://www.cnn.com/feedback/">CNN Contact Page

Faux:

General: [e-mail]
Special Report with Brit Hume: [e-mail]
FOX Report with Shepard Smith: [e-mail]
The O'Reilly Factor: [e-mail]
Hannity & Colmes: [e-mail], [e-mail]
On the Record with Greta: [e-mail]

NBC:

NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams: [e-mail]
NBC News Today: [e-mail]
Dateline NBC: [e-mail]
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6872152/">Meet the Press

MSNBC:

Hardball with Chris Matthews: [e-mail]
MSNBC Reports with Joe Scarborough: [e-mail]

PBS:

[e-mail]

NPR:

All Things Considered: [e-mail]
Morning Edition: [e-mail]
Talk Of The Nation: [e-mail]

****WRITE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR****

The Los Angeles Times
Letters to the Editor: [e-mail]
Readers' Representative: [e-mail]

The New York Times
Letters to the Editor (for publication): [e-mail]
Write to the news editors: [e-mail]

USA Today
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The Washington Post
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Newsweek
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Time
Letters to the Editor: [e-mail]

U.S. News & World Report
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AND DON'T FORGET TO SEND A COPY OF YOUR LETTER TO:
[e-mail]

[DrFunkenstein]

8. Please Please PLEASE!!!! Everyone Who Loves Democracy, Let The Media Hear This!!!

No matter who you support, democracy dies because of this type of coverage. Please demand that the the media put the record straight!!!

[boppers]

3. Some context.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOdlnzkeoyQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvMbeVQj6Lw

The devil quotes scripture...

[Tatiana]

4. Reverend Wright on Bill Clinton:

"Under Bill Clinton we got a messed up welfare to work bill, but under Clinton blacks had an intelligent friend in the Oval Office."

[jbane]

5. Apologize all you want for Rev. Wright....

You can't un-ring the bell. The video of him has played so much he is
now the face of hate speach in America.

[RC]

6. I take it you are not paying attention?

[DrFunkenstein]

10. This Isn't October. There Is Time to Save Democracy.

Whatever you feel about Obama, this type of coverage hurts Clinton, too. Liberalism demands that people pay attention to the larger picture. If we allow this to continue, we will forever lose to the lowest common denominator in politics. Just ask Max Cleland.

[Window]

13. That may be, but if you would listen to the tapes listed in post #3,

you will pleasantly surprised that Rev. Wright is not the monster as he has been portrayed as, and I bet you would be willing to share this with others.

[Tatiana]

15. I hope you never run for elective office.

I hope your reputation is never unfairly destroyed.

I hope you never have to stand alone while your face and your life's work is plastered across the television screen and distorted.

[Cary]

7. This is so important.

Thank you for bringing this up.

This is so important--I cannot express that forcefully enough.

We cannot let this smear stand. Even if we fail to correct the record, we must demand that people hear the truth. We aren't doing enough toward this end.

[Frumious B]

11. I hope that Wright announces he is suing their asses...

...the day after election day in November.

[Voice for Peace]

9. Thanks Tatiana

nice work.

[Window]

12. Good work Tatiana. K/R and bookmarked.

:kick:

[ellacott]

14. Great work

The sad part is that media has heard the entire sermon and chosen to leave this out.

[harrieta]

16. Jeremiah Wright's sermon

Earlier tonight John, guest host for 360 on CNN, said they
found out Dr. Wright was in error that Ambassador Peck was on
Fox shortly after 911.  I Googled the Ambassador and in fact
he was on CNN Crossfire 10/8/01, making those similar
comments. 
http://aolsearch.aol.com/aol/redir?src=websearch&requestId=a4aa9acdf5a1ffd6&clickedItemRank=3&userQuery=Ambassador+Peck%2C+Iraq&clickedItemURN=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.counterpunch.org%2Fpeck1.html&title=%3Cb%3EAmbassador%3C%2Fb%3E+Edward+%3Cb%3EPeck%3C%2Fb%3E%3A+Bush+War+Plan+%26quot%3BDumb%26quot%3B&moduleId=matchingsites.jsp.M&clickedItemPageRanking=3&clickedItemPage=1&clickedItemDescription=WebResults

[Bigleaf]

17. Thank You! and a kick

[Tatiana]

18. CNN's AC 360 did a better job at representing this sermon in context

March 21, 2008

The full story behind Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s 9/11 sermon
Posted: 10:09 AM ET

Editor’s note: CNN Contributor Roland Martin has listened to several of the sermons of Rev. Jeremiah Wright from Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Portions of the sermons have been excerpted in recent stories.

As this whole sordid episode regarding the sermons of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright has played out over the last week, I wanted to understand what he ACTUALLY said in this speech. I’ve been saying all week on CNN that context is important, and I just wanted to know what the heck is going on.

I have now actually listened to the sermon Rev. Wright gave after September 11 titled, “The Day of Jerusalem’s Fall.” It was delivered on Sept. 16, 2001.

One of the most controversial statements in this sermon was when he mentioned “chickens coming home to roost.” He was actually quoting Edward Peck, former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and deputy director of President Reagan’s terrorism task force, who was speaking on FOX News. That’s what he told the congregation.

(more...)

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/21/the-full-story-behind-rev-jeremiah-wrights-911-sermon/

Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I have some dates crossed; it seems likely that Rev. Wright was referencing another Faux News appearance by Amb. Peck on September 15th, 2001.